PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The European markets are trading mostly higher on Tuesday, following positive cues from Wall Street overnight. That said, gains were limited as caution prevailed among investors.
In economic news, the U.K. Office for National Statistics reported that industrial production in the U.K. rose 0.4 percent month-over-month and by 4.4 percent annually in April. The monthly increase was in line with estimates, while the annual growth exceeded expectations.
The Bank of France released the results of its business confidence survey showing deterioration in confidence, with the corresponding index declining unexpectedly by 1 point to 97 in May.
The bank also said it expects the French economy to expand by 0.2 percent in the second quarter after the stagnation in the first quarter.
Industrial output data released by French statistical office INSEE showed that industrial production rebounded by 0.3 percent month-over-month in April, in line with expectations.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is adding 0.22 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is gaining 0.24 percent.
The German DAX and the French CAC 40 are gaining 0.15 percent each, while Switzerland's SMI is up 0.8 percent. The UK's FTSE 100 is, however, losing 0.5 percent.
In Frankfurt, K+S is gaining 2 percent and Henkel is advancing 1.2 percent. Societe Generale raised Henkel to 'Buy' from 'Hold.'
Adidas, Bayer and Beiersdorf are moderately higher.
Bucking the trend, ThyssenKrupp is losing 1.6 percent.
BMW said its vehicles deliveries in May grew 6.8 percent with good growth in BMW brand sales. Meanwhile, sales of MINI brand declined from last year. The stock is down 0.3 percent.
On the CAC 40, Gemalto is gaining 3.1 percent. China Telecom has selected the company for commercial launch of NFC services.
Publicis Groupe is gaining 1.8 percent and Kering is adding 1.3 percent.
Orange is losing 2.2 percent and Bouygues is falling 1.3 percent. Bloomberg reported that Iliad SA's takeover bid for Bouygues's telecom unit has stumbled due to a difference of 3 billion euros over the price for the unit.
In London, BT Group is losing 3.2 percent and BG Group is falling 1.4 percent. BNP cut BG to 'Neutral' from 'Outperform.'
Booker Group is down over 2 percent. Goldman Sachs cut the stock to 'Buy' from 'Conviction Buy' List.
Bank of Ireland is declining 4 percent. The lender said that billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, Jr has notified the company of his resignation as a director of the company, and the agreement by Ross and certain funds connected with him to sell their remaining shares of around 1.8 billion units in the lender.
Weir Group is gaining 0.6 percent. Societe Generale raised the stock to 'Hold' from 'Sell.'
Imperial Tobacco is gaining 0.5 percent. The company announced its intention to launch an IPO of Logista involving its indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary Altadis S.A.U. to sell a portion of its shares to institutional investors. Imperial Tobacco intends to retain the majority of Logista shares.
The Asian markets closed mixed, with the Japanese, New Zealand and Singaporean markets closing lower, while most other major markets advanced.
In the U.S., futures point to a lower open on Wall Street. In the previous session, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day but managed to end modestly higher. The Dow and the S&P 500 edged up 0.1 percent each, while the Nasdaq rose 0.3 percent.
Among commodities, crude for July delivery is gaining $0.39 to $104.80 per barrel while gold is sliding $0.8 to $1253.1 a troy ounce.
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